The Friendly Schools Global Forum will bring together many of the world's experts on anti-bullying. The sessions will live stream over YouTube as mass webinars in an interactive Q & A format. The Forum is designed to help teachers create friendlier and more cohesive schools with an overall theme of "What works, what doesn't and what's promising?"

Recent research offers much to help us understand the most effective ways we can support children's and adolescents' social development, particularly to prevent bullying and other aggressive behaviour. Importantly this research has identified key developmental windows and when it is essential to target this support.

Lead Moderator: Professor Donna Cross

This series of three sessions, involving leading international researchers, practitioners and advocates, will examine the most significant findings from recent research and practice. They will discuss and respond to questions asking how these findings apply to actions parents and schools can take to enhance children's and adolescents' social competence, and reduce the likelihood of experiencing bullying.

Bullying does not suddenly appear in adolescence. The best time to begin preventing the development of bullying tendencies is in early childhood, where children learn how to be friends and to get along with others. Strategies that help equip children with these vital social skills have been found to improve physical and mental health, school performance, employment and reduce criminal behaviours.

Session 2: Helping Children to Build Relationships and Reduce Bullying

Friday 20 September – 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. - Register Today!

Children with poor social skills tend to have major school adjustment problems, disturbed peer relations, lower levels of academic performance, more behaviour and mental health problems, and be poorly accepted, overtly rejected or ignored by peers. Developing social and emotional skills in children improves their social competence (reduces bullying), health status, academic performance, attendance, self-esteem, teacher morale and resilience, and reduces school vandalism.

Session 3: Bullying that Follows you Home: Practical Ideas to Help Reduce Cyberbullying in the Net-generation

Friday 27 September - 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. - Register Today!

Cyberbullying is a psychologically cruel form of aggression used primarily by adolescents to inflict harm on others through electronic and digital media. Technology enables the person bullying to reach a much wider audience than merely friends within the school or neighbourhood, which means cyberbullying does not necessarily end when the person being bullied arrives home. As such, social isolation can be inflicted on a much broader scale. Most importantly, because cyberbullying can occur both within the school environment and out of school, it blurs the boundaries for supervision and responsibility, and introduces unprecedented legal and educational concerns for schools.